Nonprofit leaders tell Avondale council childcare access, housing stability and peer support are urgent priorities

Representatives of A New Leaf, United Way and First Things First told Avondale city leaders on March 4 that childcare affordability, housing stability and coordinated community supports are among the most urgent human‑services needs in the region.

Kathy DeNolfi, chief program officer at A New Leaf, described an expanded range of services that organization provides and warned that most of the nonprofit’s funding (about 85%) is government‑sourced and therefore subject to shifts. “It’s a daily challenge in finding the resources to do so,” DeNolfi said of services spanning housing, domestic violence sheltering and community behavioral health.

United Way vice president Sam Labus described United Way’s “mighty change” agenda focused on early education and literacy, workforce development, health and food security, and housing and homelessness prevention. Labus said United Way aims to shift upstream toward prevention and said the nonprofit will coordinate corporate and philanthropic resources for high‑impact programs.

Delaney Russell, regional director for the early‑childhood agency First Things First, said southwest Maricopa includes roughly 30,000 children birth to age 5, with about 7,100 living in Avondale. Russell noted that child‑care costs in Arizona can exceed college tuition for infants and said the city could explore childcare scholarships, employer‑backed subsidies and public‑private partnerships.

Councilmembers and panelists discussed transportation and access: panelists and councilmembers agreed that micro‑transit and colocating training or childcare near neighborhoods and high schools can reduce barriers. The panel highlighted the Avondale Family Resource Center as a high‑volume hub: First Things First funds two full‑time staff at the center and reported about 11,000 parent/caregiver visits in a recent reporting quarter (duplicated count).

Panelists urged the city to continue supporting prevention strategies for homelessness — such as motel vouchers and navigation to stable housing — and to partner on workforce and childcare incentives. United Way said it will provide the council with data and scorecards on literacy and community outcomes to support planning.

Councilmembers said the session reinforced the need to communicate available resources more broadly across neighborhoods and to consider options to expand affordable childcare and housing access as part of the strategic plan.